Boeing has been awarded a $1.5 billion US Navy production contract for the 18 P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The deal includes eight aircraft for the US Navy, six aircraft for the Republic of Korea Navy and four aircraft for the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force and the Republic of Korea Navy are expected to begin receiving aircraft from 2022 and 2023 respectively. The P-8 variants are militarised with maritime weapons and patrol the globe performing anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare as well as search and rescue missions.
